Ploked.com is all about being plugged into social media. We strive to provide informative, relevant, and unique perspectives in the world of social media.

OK, let’s get right to the big pink elephant in the room: social media is not just for playing ‘Farmville’ and talking about your kid’s potty training. Sure, plenty of people use Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and so forth to let the world know about the fact that they just had a great massage (I wish I was kidding) but the truth is that, beyond all the junk and nonsense, there is actually a lot of gold in those virtual hills when it comes to finding new customers for your small business and creating revenue.

Rubbish you say?! Social media isn’t anything more than a playground for those wishing to stay in touch with people they haven’t actually cared about for years and others that have nothing better to do but jabber on all day about the type of breakfast cereal they love? Well, it’s true. People do jabber on about their silly corn flakes but they also go to social sites in absolute droves and if you present them with something interesting, funny, valuable or sometimes even just downright silly you will find that they reward you with their business.

The simple fact is that social media is huge and, if your message is delivered the right way, it can create an affinity for your brand, your service or your product that very few other types of marketing can match. Social media can be used to build trust, convert people’s views and provide them with knowledge that they will find valuable enough to give you their hard earned money. In fact, if you do it right by the time it comes to make your ‘pitch’ they will more than likely already be sold.

With social media you have an ‘in’ into the private worlds of millions of people, a fact that can’t be overlooked. If you deliver them content that is helpful and engaging (and believe me, it’s being done very day by your competitors) you can convert them to customers without having to sell them anything. By creating and sharing meaningful, useful or entertaining content (a must on any social site) you can create a following that will, with time, promote your business at no cost. That’s the really cool part about social media: it’s social. If someone likes something they share it among their family, friends and colleagues.

There are a number of ways to do this, to engage people with content that they like and thus create attraction for your particular brand. Pinterest uses pictures to do it on their site and they have used it well. As one of the fastest growing social sites in the last couple of years they have created a following that has sparked the creation of thousands of small businesses all over the US and have even been used by the big name brands to do the same. Facebook fan pages allow a business small or large to do the same and some of the best brands have visually rich sites that engross visitors and attract them en masse.

The most powerful part, to be sure, is that social media is personal. Today’s mass media is completely impersonal and that’s why social media has been such a big hit; it’s personalised to every person’s unique tastes. If you get it right you can create a powerful connection that, in the long run, will pay off in new customers and greater revenue. Sure virtual farming makes about as much sense as virtual meatloaf but, if you can get past the silliness, social media offers something that can put your small business on the map; a real connection to the consumer public. So pass the virtual meatloaf and get going with your social media today.